Pittsburgh Penguins
Trade Target: Bryan Rust
All the reporting throughout the offseason has been that every single team in the league is trying to get better, except for Pittsburgh. Two of the names that seem most likely to be dealt are Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust.
Rust is in the fourth year of a six-year deal with an AAV of $5.125 million. He is coming off a season where he scored 31 goals and 34 assists in 78 games on a brutal Pittsburgh team.
While he doesn't address the second-line centre role, he can play both wings and would add another weapon to the top of the lineup that they're currently missing. Rust also brings tons of playoff experience, having won two Cups at the start of his career.
The assets could be the reason why we won't see Rust in a Leafs uniform. I think other teams will be able to put together better packages with higher-value picks as well as better prospects than we can. Regardless, I would love to see Treliving take a run at this.
I'm looking forward to NHL general managers getting off their summer vacations, and when they do, I'll be watching Pittsburgh.